My main concern right now (this is before the survey) is that it has been laid up and not working for 2 years.

The previous owner was one that always carefully mantained his boat. Clean bilges, new connections, and was renewing all the stopcocks and valves before passing away and leaving it all to his wife. . .who didn't want anything to do with the boat. . .

Do you guys think that it should involve some nasty surprises or need a major haulout?

Moreover today I found the manual handle that can be used to turn/start the engine >.> and decided to give it a turn to see if it turns over at least. . .

It did budge for about 2cm maybe? And then it stopped and I just didn't push it too hard just in case. .

What was wierd (for me anyways) is that when I opened the heat exchanger to check the coolant it started coming out/overflowing. It looked clean/green though.

If the other guy still owns the boat, could you tell him the purchase is contingent on his starting the engine for you? If the boat is that well maintained, maybe he will feel confident just turning the key.

Otherwise, I would open the compression release (if that engine has one) or pull all the injectors and turn the engine over slowly by hand several revolutions before I tried to start it- just to be safe.

If you turn it vigorously by hand without doing that, it may start and run. That wouldn't be a problem, unless a valve or something else has frozen in place from sitting so long.

Its the wife that has it now (and wants to get rid of it as she is 70+ now. . .)

A friend that I made while on the hard ( a surveyor) checked some minor stuff for me (and pointed out that the owner must be someone that knows how to care for stuff as all was neat and ordered and clean down below were it matters). But voiced concerns about the engine :/

I do not really have much experience with diesel engines. . .and the Bukh is one that is not really mentioned a lot amongst other sailors in the yard :/

If it was laid up on the hard, and laid up properly, there really should be nothing wrong with the engine. However not being there and not knowing how much force you put into the bar attempting to turn it makes it anybody's guess. Make an offer based on the outcome of an engine survey. coolant may come out the cap if there is a water heater plumbed into the coolant jacket that sits higher than the engine reservoir, this isn't' all that unusual.

If it was laid up on the hard, and laid up properly, there really should be nothing wrong with the engine. However not being there and not knowing how much force you put into the bar attempting to turn it makes it anybody's guess. Make an offer based on the outcome of an engine survey. coolant may come out the cap if there is a water heater plumbed into the coolant jacket that sits higher than the engine reservoir, this isn't' all that unusual.

[QUOTE=Thorbad;918202Why what could have gone wrong? Not really much force I can say is the normal turning power. . .[/QUOTE]

If the engine is in good condition it may be that you've come up against compression. It may also be that the rings are stuck from sitting for two years. If the latter is the case if may just need a "gentle" nudge, or it may need a complete rebuild. Again hard to say.
Questions
was the waterlift muffler drained of saltwater prior to layup?
was there anything in the exhaust to prevent something from going into the engine through the back door?

My vote is to try a little harder to turn it, and if there are decompression levers on the head, throw them open as well.

[QUOTE=
was there anything in the exhaust to prevent something from going into the engine through the back door?

My vote is to try a little harder to turn it, and if there are decompression levers on the head, throw them open as well.[/QUOTE]

Nope exhaust is open as far as I know since. . .forever

Hmm decompression levers? Will do! Just dnt wanna break anything yet >.< (although I doubt such a hunk of iron can break just like that)....

And yea...its own winch :P I specified as people here tend to use whatever contraption they fancy to do a job and usually it breaks things more than it solves....I did not want people to think that I used a random bar of iron and wedged it between the flywheel!

Either open the compression release (if it has one), or pull all the injectors, so the engine won't start. Then it should turn over pretty easily with the manual starter.

If it doesn't, you have an internal problem. If that's the case, you will either learn a lot more about diesel engines quickly, or you will be spending a lot of money with a diesel mechanic.

My suggestion is to get a shop manual for the engine and work on it yourself. Diesels are really not that difficult to work on, and as you work on it, you will lose some of the fear you are currently facing.

If the manual starting bar stopped turning, you could simply be near the top of the compression stroke. Or something inside could be seized. You have to take the compression off all the cylinders so you can test this.

These are exellent little engines. Not a lot of power but they are quiet, eficient, and reliable. Mine was raw water cooled and whether you started it with the electric starter or the hand crank you had to use the de-compression lever to get it spinning fast enough to start. It is a very simple engine designed and built for marine use in Denmark. I've never seen one that was fresh water cooled but that could be done easily enough. Activate the de-compressor and slowly turn the engine by handcrank a few turns to make sure nothing is sticking before squirting a few drops of lube oil in the air intake port. Then while still de-compressing the engine hit the starter button and after a few revolutions release the de-compression lever and it will probably start.

I've just done a lot of work on my DV20. Good engines but things to watch for. I've skimmed the head and cut new valve and seats faces and lapped them in and can still hand crank against the compression. Take off the rocker cover, check for closed valves and you should be able to feel compression but be able to push the flywheel past the close valves. If the engine has not run for two years watch the injector pump has not jammed. Make sure you see it run. The speed regulation of the Bukh is reliable but not exactly accessible, so you need to watch that also. The Bukhs are prone to water pump seal leaks, an easy fix but if not attended will casuse corrosion behind the large flywheel. Get a torch and mirror and have a good look at the engine front end. As for spares, you pay your money and need to pay the price for the spares. To be fair to Bukh they always have every conceivable bit on thier shelves, react quickly to get you the spares delievered and are great at giving advice. It's a boat and I've never known any thing to be reasonable for a boat. Don't think Bukh are worse than Volvo. Hope this helps